Sheriff's Office conducts sex offender compliance operation

Tuesday

Dec 5, 2017 at 9:29 AM

On Wednesday, Nov. 29, the SCSO conducted a counter-sexual offender operation with Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement funds provided by a special grant through the California Emergency Management Agency.

The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office reported the following:

On Wednesday, Nov. 29, the SCSO conducted a counter-sexual offender operation with Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement funds provided by a special grant through the California Emergency Management Agency.

The fund is administered by the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office. SAFE funds help regional federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies like SCSO conduct compliance checks on registered sex offenders in the county, conduct sexual assault investigations, and special equipment can be acquired to help facilitate sexual assault investigative cases.

According to Sheriff Jon Lopey, “SAFE funds and special enforcement efforts in Siskiyou County are designed to prevent sexual assault crimes and to keep convicted sexual assault offenders off the streets. Sadly, one in three women, one in four girls, one in six boys, and one in eleven men will be victims of sexual assault at least once in their lifetime. It is important that we continue to educate the public, conduct compliance checks, and monitor the activities of registered sex offenders to protect the public, especially our most vulnerable populations such as children.”

Fourteen arrest warrant attempts were made and four arrests were made as a result of this effort. Arrests included Elston Pihneftuff, 25, of Happy Camp, arrested for a DUI-related arrest warrant; Raymond Myers, 61, of Happy Camp, was arrested on four misdemeanor arrest warrants (DUI, driving on suspended driver license, and public intoxication); Lloyd Smith, 56, of Happy Camp, was arrested on two misdemeanor arrest warrants, including public intoxication and possession of more than 1 ounce of marijuana; and James Williams, 53, of Happy Camp, was arrested on a felony arrest warrant for a felony DUI charge.

A citation was written for an unlicensed driver violation and a resisting, obstructing, and delaying a peace officer while on-duty was taken by a SAFE deputy after Charles Tello fled deputies on foot in the 400 block of Buckhorn Road.

Charges will be filed against Tello for a misdemeanor resisting arrest offense. No registered sex offenders were found to be in violation of the law but not all were present during the compliance checks and additional investigative follow-up will be performed in some cases.According to Lopey, “This was a successful operation and we will continue to use SAFE and other available funds to target areas throughout the county to ensure the safety of our citizens. SAFE funds provide an excellent resource because they help us monitor sex offenders and assist in the identification of sexual predators, and these resources help us to track convicted predators in SCSO’s Offender Watch and Megan’s Law databases. We also receive help with sexual assault investigations and we are assisted in our efforts to educate the public about predatory behavior and how to seek assistance and support. We will also solicit support of our local law enforcement partners in the future for SAFE operations. Currently, there are about 150 registered sex offenders listed with the Department’s Offender Watch website and 160 sexual offenders are listed on the Megan’s Law website.”

The Federal Health and Human Services Department reports 900,000 cases of child abuse annually. Because abuse and neglect are vastly underreported, they project that this is only one third of the actual total. Individuals who have been abused or neglected as youngsters are 29 percent more likely to become violent criminals than are other children, the HHSD reports.

Based on this estimate, 36,000 of the 900,000 children reported abused annually will become violent criminals when they reach adulthood, 250 of which will become murderers. Sex offenders come from all walks of life and from all socio-economic groups. They can be male or female, rich or poor, employed or unemployed, religious or non-religious, educated or uneducated and they may represent any nationality or ethnic group.

Offenders develop predatory behaviors early, between the ages of 8 and 12. Oftentimes, they feel their behaviors are natural although they understand such behavior is criminal. A predictable cycle of abuse creates abusers of the abused. Children who are abused or neglected are far more likely to become criminals as adults. This makes it important to recognize abusive behaviors in families, schools and communities at large early and take action to address the situation. According to Sheriff Lopey, “We would like to reverse these trends and stop sexual abuse, assault, and related crimes in our communities in partnership with our fellow citizens and our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners.”

Although some sex offenders are strangers and stalkers, many know the victim as a family member, friend or neighbor. These predators target adults, teens and children and often have well-developed techniques for luring victims. These include cautious predatory search for an easy victim and practiced assessment of the victim’s vulnerability (safety and security levels), personality, physical abilities and lifestyle. How do predators select their victims? Vulnerability, availability, gender, location, race, appearance, and occasionally, 25 percent of the time, no special reason may exist to spark or facilitate a sexual assault or predatory behavior (Hazelwood and Warren, 1995).

Serial killers and sexual sadists, both predators, love to drive. It is not unusual for them to put thousands of excessive miles per month and year on their car. Predatory behavior is resistant to permanent rehabilitation: At least 50 percent of all convicted sexual predators will re-offend.

Because of their vulnerability, children are a favored target of sex offenders. One in four girls is sexually abused before the age of 14. One in six boys is sexually abused before the age of 16. Sadly, the median age for reported sexual abuse is 9 years old. Research shows that reporting of these offenses is very low. One study reported that only one in ten child victims reports the abuse. Children are the segment of our U.S. population with the highest crime victimization rates. Teens between the ages of 16 and 19 are 3.5 times more likely to be sexually abused than the general population. Unfortunately, the U.S. leads the world in its rate of juvenile homicide victimization. The average pedophile (child sex offender) will victimize between 50-150 children before he/she comes to the attention of law enforcement. These offenders often seek out mothers of single parent families to victimize their children, such as places where children congregate. Some predators participate in activities with teens, seeking activities that exclude adults or offering sports expertise to parent/teens who want to excel. Some sexual predators seek employment or volunteer work that puts them in contact with children and teens.

According to Lopey, “SAFE and other enforcement efforts are a community resource. If you have a concern about any individual or any suspicious behavior, contact the SCSO’s 24-hour Dispatch Center at (530) 841-2900, or your local police agency if not served by our Department.”

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